


Handle With Care

by subterfuge



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Internal Conflict, Language Barrier, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mild Sexual Content, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:41:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29215857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subterfuge/pseuds/subterfuge
Summary: Johnny knows it’s a mistake to fall for the guy his family takes in as part of a foreign exchange program, who barely even knows English. But what else is he supposed to do when Taeyong is all he can think about ever since they met. And what’s he supposed to do when Taeyong unexpectedly goes into heat??
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 12
Kudos: 163
Collections: Johnny Fic Fest: Round Two





	Handle With Care

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt JS058: Person B is a foreign exchange student from Korea who comes to live with Johnny and his family for the year. Person B is also an omega. Johnny, an alpha, finds himself catching feelings for Person B but they struggle with the language barrier, that is until Person B goes into heat and only trusts Johnny to help him through it.

Johnny is in hell. 

Maybe worse than hell, he thinks. He knows he’s being overly dramatic but honestly, it’s the only way he can deal with his situation right now. 

The situation is sitting across from him at his family’s dinner table, in the form of an omega with a white t-shirt two sizes too big and the pinkest, poutiest lips in the galaxy. The t-shirt— _Johnny’s_ old t-shirt, he agonizingly recognized early on—has been falling off the boy’s shoulder all night, no matter how many times it’s adjusted. He wonders what the point of even fixing it is anyway if it’s just gonna fall back down, showing off all that skin. 

Johnny gulps. 

“John-ah,” his mother says, “what’s wrong? You like the food, right?”

Johnny realizes he’s been glaring at his plate in order to keep from looking at the person sitting across from him. Popping a boner in front of his parents isn’t the ideal way to interrupt a meal. So, he tries to smooth out his brow before facing his mom. 

“No, it’s fine. Perfect as always, mom,” he says sweetly. 

“Oh, stop.” She blushes and shoos at him with her napkin. “You’re just saying that because of our guest. How do you like it, Taeyong?” She turns her attention to the boy sitting across from Johnny. When the boy scrunches up his nose in confusion, she repeats the question in Korean.

Taeyong’s face lights up in understanding. “Ah, good, the food is good, thank you very much,” he answers in memorized phrases and a heavy accent.

Johnny has to press his lips tightly together so as not to do something stupid like coo. How can anyone be so unreasonably sexy and yet so adorably cute at the same time without meaning to…

As they continue dinner, Johnny’s mom tells him how the living arrangements will be. Johnny had been camping down on the Ohio River for the past two weeks with some friends from high school. When he came home, Taeyong had already arrived from Korea and had been staying in Johnny’s room. Now that he’s back, however, Taeyong will be moving to Mark’s room. And Mark, his little brother who is currently at a friend’s house, will be sleeping in Johnny’s room. It’s way too inappropriate for an alpha and omega to sleep in the same room, and both Johnny and Mark are both alphas.

Taeyong is their foreign exchange student from the program his mother applied to. While her sons didn’t reject their own culture, she thought they could appreciate it more while helping other kids their age to acclimate to the western world. 

Johnny had been indifferent to the idea but he loves his mom, so he decided to indulge her. 

If only he’d known what a mistake the whole thing would’ve been then maybe he’d have decided to start his freshman year of college out of state. He’d been expecting a...nerd, honestly. Not this.

He chances a glance up at Taeyong and finds him staring right back at him, expectantly.

Taeyong’s eyes are unreasonably large, the irises are completely black in the low light of the dining room, but they catch the reflection of the lights so well, making his eyes seem to sparkle. His light brown hair is framing his face with the ends of his bangs resting just above his long eyelashes—eyelashes so long Johnny can see them individually, could count them if he wanted to, all the way from his seat across the dinner table. Taeyong doesn’t even blink and Johnny finds himself unable to blink himself, much less look away. 

“John.”

Johnny shrinks back, guiltily, and turns to his dad. 

He almost looks amused and Johnny feels even more guilty. “Your mom asked you a question.” 

“Later, do you want to help Taeyong move his stuff to Mark’s room?”

“Oh, yeah! No problem!” 

Johnny excuses himself soon after and collects his dishes to bring to the sink before he does anything else stupid. Like start drooling.

  
  


Johnny hadn’t had time to unpack earlier, and while he figures he should help Taeyong with his things as soon as possible, he really feels gross from being on the road all day and then immediately pulled into a family dinner when he had arrived home. So, he rummages through his dresser drawers for clean clothes to wear, grabs a towel from the linen closet, and heads to the shower.

He very specifically does not think about his house guest while he’s washing up. 

Maybe Johnny double checks his reflection before leaving the bathroom. He combs a hand through his hair to push it to the side, and he ignores the fact that he wants to look good. Johnny knows he’s not the best looking guy and maybe he uses his humor a little too much to compensate for his insecurities. But he’s not terrible looking either. He’s had a few middle and high school flings, after all. But none with an omega, and none that looked like Taeyong…

Johnny narrows his eyes at himself in the mirror. You’re being stupid, he tells his reflection. Nothing is happening here. Taeyong is a guest. That is all.

It'd be wrong to even think about a relationship beyond friendship with someone like Taeyong. Someone who needs to trust the people around him. What if Taeyong feels obligated? Like he can’t say no? He’s by himself in this place far from his home and family. Johnny can’t take advantage of him or risk a misunderstanding.

Johnny can’t do that to Taeyong. 

When he gets back to his room, mostly dried off and in clean sweatpants and a shirt, he finds Taeyong cross legged on the floor, staring at something in his hands. It’s a framed picture, Johnny sees as he nears. 

“Is that your family?” 

The gasp that comes from Taeyong scares Johnny right back. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Taeyong looks embarrassed. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, it’s okay. I'm sorry.”

Johnny keeps a polite distance when he sits down on the floor to look at the photo in Taeyong’s hand. “Is this your family?” he asks. 

“Your family, er, my family, yes,” Taeyong says and then points to each person. “My mommy, my daddy, my sister.” 

Johnny once again finds himself suppressing the urge to express how adorable this boy is. 

“I bet you miss them,” Johnny says sympathetically. 

Taeyong scrunches up his nose again and looks off to the side, like he’s going through the English vocabulary in his head, either to translate or to find the right response. 

God he’s so fucking cute.

Instead of coming up with an answer, Taeyong digs through in the pocket of his jeans and pulls out his phone. After swiping through and typing a bit, he hands Johnny the phone. Pulled up is a translation app.

“Ah.” Johnny types his sentence in English and watches the Korean translation pop up. He hands the phone back over to Taeyong.

Taeyong’s whole face perks up in understanding when he reads the translation and he nods. “Yes, I miss you.”

"Them," Johnny corrects. "I miss them."

"Ah, sorry. I miss them."

They don't say anything for a moment, they just look at each other with small smiles. Johnny could kick himself for being so awkward but instead, he stands up. “Come on,” he holds a hand out to help Taeyong stand as well, “let’s get your stuff together.” 

He tries not to think of that momentary warmth when their hands touched.

  
  


Before his dad goes to sleep that night, he stops by Johnny’s room where he’s lounging on his bed, scrolling aimlessly on his phone. 

“Don’t get into trouble,” he warns with a half smile, gesturing with his thumb towards Mark’s room.

Johnny doesn’t try to play dumb. “Yes, sir.”

  
  


Johnny learns a lot about Taeyong within the next week before school starts. He learns that he’s also a college freshman, but they are enrolled in different schools. He knew that Taeyong is younger than him but finds out it’s only by a few months. When Taeyong realizes this, he insists on calling Johnny _hyung,_ despite Johnny’s protests. 

And when Mark hears this, there’s no stopping the high pitched _hyung, hyung_ that comes from the little demon at any given moment of the day. So he eventually stops trying to dissuade either of them in hopes it’ll wear off. 

Taeyong and Mark get along a little too well, in Johnny’s opinion. 

Mark takes more of an interest in learning their native language. They both know the basics, of course. Their parents are fluent and have a habit of speaking a mix of English and Korean around the house. But Johnny’s got better things to do, like _not_ learn something when it’s not part of his music and business degrees, especially when it’s still summer and he’s trying not to use his brain at all. 

Despite whatever is going through his head (and body) whenever Taeyong is around, and it’s a lot, to be sure, Johnny tries to play it cool and distance himself from their guest. Nothing’s going to happen, he decides, and the sooner his brain (and other regions) understand that, the sooner he can feel normal again, and not like now where he’s always super aware of where Taeyong is at all times. 

It’s always Mark, however, who seems to unwittingly pull him back in. 

“Hey _hyung_ , can you help us?” he asks one day when he needs help with describing pronunciation. 

As they’re going through words and sounds, Johnny has ample opportunity to freely stare at Taeyong’s lips. 

Or when Mark asks him to drive them to different restaurants so Taeyong can get the full authentic Chicago food experience and Johnny secretly delights in watching Taeyong try the range of foods they come across. Watch his eyes become thoughtful and his tongue dart out to lick his lips. 

Johnny smacks himself internally. He’s back to looking at his lips again…

Mark is easy to say no to. Not that he would most of the time. He loves his brother and wants to take him places and see him happy. But the alpha in Johnny starts to get confused when Taeyong lights up when they visit all the Chicago touristy spots, ones that Johnny has stopped caring about long ago. But experiencing it with Taeyong seems like his interest is suddenly renewed.

So he tries to say no, to stop himself from these… feelings… from growing, to stop himself from seeing the sparkle in Taeyong’s eyes when Johnny relents. It doesn’t help at all though. Especially when Taeyong holds onto his arm when they’re in a crowded place, so as not to get lost. Or when Taeyong smiles at him like he’s someone _important_. 

  
  


A month into the school year, Johnny is mostly busy with his assignments and his friends. He would be delighted to find a cute omega to keep the other parts of his brain occupied, but no one at school really stands out. Everyone he meets now is… lacking. So he keeps his head down in that aspect and concentrates on getting through his first few weeks of the semester. 

Johnny avoids Taeyong as much as possible these days, since Taeyong has already taken over a large part of his mind. Johnny can hardly go through an hour without thinking where Taeyong is, what he’s doing, if he’s okay. Johnny would think he’s being obsessive but it doesn’t feel like it. 

He honestly just worries about Taeyong, but he doesn’t know why. So, he just decides spending more time with Taeyong than he has to is playing with fire. If Taeyong notices, he doesn’t say anything. He’s busy with his own school work, after all.

Besides, Taeyong has _friends_ now, alpha friends even. They hang around when Johnny comes to pick up Taeyong from his Korean and ESL clubs after classes sometimes. It doesn’t bother Johnny _too_ much. I mean, yeah okay he kinda wants to get out and beat the shit out of the Japanese alpha with a ponytail who hugs Taeyong goodbye and smirks at Johnny sitting in his car. And he might want to see that dimpled alpha kid who speaks fluent English get run over by a bus every time Taeyong mentions his name at home. 

But that’s just his stupid alpha brain being jealous, right?

Only, there’s something strange about his feelings for Taeyong that doesn't seem right. This isn’t a normal crush. Johnny gets normal crushes just like anyone else and this isn’t the same. 

Well, there’s nothing he can do about it. Taeyong’s off limits and that’s that. 

  
  


Winter in Chicago sucks. Everyone knows that. The lake and the wind makes the temperature a million times colder. So, when voting for winter break vacation came up, Johnny immediately put his hat in for Florida. Mark said Canada for some god forsaken reason. Literally no thank you. 

When Mark finally changes his mind—Johnny reminded Mark that it would be Taeyong’s first vacation and wouldn’t Florida be a fantastic destination for that?—their dad books the flight, an AirBnB on the beach, and events and tours. 

All of which, they find out, is practically non refundable.

Because of course, when everything has been going well, Taeyong comes down with a fever. _Three days_ before they’re supposed to catch their flight.

Despite every remedy to try to break the fever, Taeyong remains at a solid 101°F and has barely left his borrowed bed. Two days to go. One day to go. Still no sign of the fever lifting. 

The family has a whispered meeting at dinner the night before to decide what to do. 

“We can't take him in this state and hope he gets better. And we can’t leave him here alone,” Johnny’s mom reasons, “I’ll stay with him.” 

“We can cancel and go for Spring Break?” his dad suggests.

Johnny feels bad; he knows how much that would cost them. He also knows his mom deserves a vacation. And so does his dad. And so does he, come to think about it. “Mark could stay,” he adds half jokingly.

“Jerk,” Mark pouts. But he turns to his parents, thinking. “I can stay.”

“No,” both their parents say simultaneously. “Darling, it’s okay. You have fun with your brother, I’ll take care of Taeyong,” his mother continues. 

Johnny knows why his dad doesn’t offer, it would be extremely awkward and his dad is an old fashioned, responsible alpha. He does look forlornly at his wife though. Which makes Johnny feel instantly selfish. 

There goes his sun bathing, water ski-ing, Chicago-free vacation. 

“I can go to Florida with friends for Spring Break. Maybe take Taeyong then and show him what he’s missing.” Johnny manages to stifle a sigh. “You all go.”

In the very back of his head, however, there is a whisper of relief, although he doesn’t understand and he’ll never admit to it.

  
  


The Suh family packs in their SUV at five in the morning to catch their flight. Since they had two extra places, they’ve recruit two of Mark’s friends to go last minute. They pull up to Departures and Johnny gets out from the squished backseat where he was half passed out, and into the slosh of snow layering up on the curb. He rolls his eyes and groans in complaint. This just gets worse and worse. After shaking the chunks of snow off his legs, Johnny goes to help his family unload their luggage. He then gives hugs and kisses and a hair mussing to Mark, and wishes them safe travels. 

“Don’t forget the list I left, make sure he’s getting lots of water. And the doctor’s number—“

“—Is on the fridge. Yes, mom. I know.” 

“Hm,” she looks him over. “John-ah, don’t be too mad, he didn’t mean to mess up your vacation.” 

Johnny feels bad that his family thinks he’ll blame Taeyong. They must notice how he avoids Taeyong regularly, apart from picking him up from school every once in a while. Now that it’s clear his mom thinks he’ll be mad at Taeyong, he’s ashamed.

“I know, mom. Have fun.” 

He has to pry Mark off of him before they miss flight. “Bye, kiddo. Take lots of pictures for me.”

Johnny’s dad leaves him with a look that says _be good_.

  
  


The house is still dark and quiet when Johnny pulls up. He tries not to sulk on his way up the steps to his house. He really wants to be a big baby and lie face down on the living room floor and just stay there all week. But it’s still pretty early and he’s tired again, not to mention his pants are gross now from the snow, so he gloomily makes his way up to the second floor and to the door of his (and temporarily Mark’s) bedroom. 

As he swings open the door and steps in, he notices a few things simultaneously: for one, his room doesn’t smell like his room, there’s a sweet fragrance permeating the air, kinda like one of his mom’s candles, but _nicer_ . And two, lying on _his_ bed, under _his_ blankets, is Taeyong. Only a little tuft of light brown hair is sticking out from under the covers. 

“Oh, come on...” he huffs.

Taeyong doesn’t move and Johnny has to come closer to see if he’s even breathing, which he is. The blankets are just barely rising and falling, but with a rapid pace. Now Johnny’s wondering if Taeyong’s getting enough air. 

Carefully, Johnny pulls down the blanket to expose a bit of Taeyong’s forehead and then his closed eyes and nose. He can feel the heat coming from Taeyong without even touching him. “Shit.”

He rushes to Mark’s room where their mom had set up all the supplies for Taeyong and grabs the thermometer and an unopened bottle of water from the side table. Taeyong still hasn’t moved when he gets back and Johnny is internally panicking. He told his mom he could handle it and he knows logically he still can, but he didn’t think he’d have to deal with an emergency situation so soon.

Johnny pushes down the blankets off of Taeyong’s shoulders away from his chest and notices the sheen of sweat layering his skin, soaking into his t-shirt. Fuck. He decides to pull the blankets all the way of his body. That’s when Taeyong finally has some kind of reaction. 

“Mmn,” Taeyong murmurs, with more Korean words Johnny doesn’t know but he gets the idea.

“I know, here, I gotta take your temperature.” It’s easy to get the tip of the thermometer under Taeyong’s tongue. He’s been breathing through his mouth with his jaw slack. Johnny presses his fingers under Taeyong’s chin to help him close his lips around the device. “Just a few seconds, Taeyong. You’re doing really well, okay?” 

Taeyong’s droopy eyes close and he slides his face along Johnny’s hand so he can rest his cheek into Johnny’s palm. 

He looks so miserable, Johnny thinks. His eyebrows are pinched, his skin is sickly pale, and he looks like he wouldn’t be able to stand up if he tried. 

The thermometer beeps at 102.7°F. Shit shit shit.

After setting the thermometer down, he grabs the water bottle and opens it. “Alright, man. We gotta get some water into you, okay?” He gently pulls up on the back of Taeyong’s neck to help him lean forward. 

“ _Head_ ... _hurt_...”

“I know, man. You gotta drink this, okay?”

Taeyong practically downs almost all of the bottle. Johnny sets that aside and means to leave to grab another bottle, but an arm curls around his before he can go far. 

_"Hyung.”_

Taeyong’s eyes finally focus on him. _“Please.”_ He tugs on Johnny’s arm to bring him closer. 

It’s when Taeyong lifts his head to Johnny’s lap and kind of inch-worms his way up Johnny’s chest that he thinks he should have left when he had the chance. “Wait, what are you doing?”

 _“Cold,”_ is all Taeyong says as he tries to burrow as far as he can into Johnny’s chest. He brings Johnny’s arm around his body and just...settles.

“Um...okay…” 

  
  


Johnny doesn’t realize he drifted off until he starts waking up. It’s fully bright outside but his eyes don’t want to open, he’s so _comfortable_. He’s warm and the air smells so good, he wills his consciousness to drift off again. 

That is, until he feels lips on his neck.

It takes a split second of remembering the situation he’s in until he guesses whose mouth is now sucking at different places on his neck as his brain finally returns to him.

“Jesus, what the—”

Taeyong moans deeply. _"_ _Alpha."_

Johnny’s eyes try to open but he’s still so sleepy that he can barely glance around. He’s still leaning against the headboard, now with Taeyong practically hugging him around the middle, nudging his face in the crook of Johnny’s neck, moving up further and further. 

Instinctually, Johnny’s hands come up to rest on Taeyong’s waist, not pushing him away but not bringing him closer, either. “What are you doing?” he asks, his voice still heavy with sleep.

Johnny doesn’t understand any of the Korean that Taeyong says, but the way his voice is low and throaty makes him shiver.

Taeyong’s lips and tongue make their way just under Johnny’s jaw. “Uh… wait...” he starts, but forgets where he was going with that when the thought pops into his head that he must be dreaming and to relax. So he leans his head back to give this dream Taeyong more room. 

There’s more Korean being spoken into his skin, which tingles all the nerves of his spine, and Johnny doesn’t understand what's being said, but he’s not really focused on that at the moment. One of Taeyong’s hands come up under Johnny’s sweater where he paws at Johnny’s chest over his t-shirt and there’s also a leg now thrown over his. Taeyong’s skin is warm but doesn’t feel like he’s on fire anymore, probably because this is just a dream. The pleasant smell in the room fills his lungs and makes his toes curl. 

Johnny doesn’t have the brain power to understand what’s happening in this dream so he just goes with it. His fingers tangle in the back of Taeyong’s shirt while Taeyong kisses along his jaw to his mouth. Just as he’s about to let those lips fall on his, Johnny opens his eyes to find Taeyong’s hooded ones looking at him in a haze. And that’s when he realizes.

This is real.

Taeyong is in heat.

The floor comes up fast in his haste to get out of bed and out of Taeyong’s reach but he doesn’t notice. He has to get out of here.

“You’re in heat!” he shouts, stupidly, while fumbling for the doorknob behind him. 

_“Hyung…”_

With the doorknob turned in one hand and the other pinching his nose, Johnny waits a beat to listen to Taeyong. The omega’s eyes are wide and teary. His skin is flushed and he’s got a handful of his shirt—wait, is that Johnny’s shirt? again?!—he’s twisting in between his fingers like he’s two seconds away from tearing the material from his body. 

In the back of Johnny’s mind, he’s wondering how the heck did having a fever for days and days come to this? It doesn’t work like that, right? 

But this isn’t the time to think about that. And Johnny should not be here.

 _“Please."_ Then, Taeyong says more in Korean but Johnny doesn’t understand.

“Goddamnit.” He’d like nothing more than to go back to the bed, his bed, and help Taeyong through his heat but he’s never done that before with anyone. And he definitely doesn’t want to take advantage of Taeyong…

“I’m sorry, Taeyong.” 

  
  


As soon as he’s out of the room and with mostly fresher air in his lungs, Johnny feels bad. Really bad. He doesn’t know what to do, but he knows for sure that rejecting an omega in heat is a terrible thing to do. They have to deal with this awful thing happening to their bodies and, yes, it’s not like centuries ago when people thought omegas in heat lost all brain function, but they also do need the comfort and support. Johnny knows that much. 

He just isn’t a hundred percent on what that entails.

“Tae-Taeyong, are you okay?” he calls through the door.

He doesn’t hear a response but there’s a faint movement and then a shuffling towards the door. Johnny’s quick to grab ahold of the doorknob though so it doesn’t turn when Taeyong tries. The whimpering he hears breaks his heart, though.

“Taeyong, I’m sorry, it’s not a good idea. I wish I could help you… Taeyong, tell me what you need.” 

Taeyong groans. There’s more shuffling and then he hears what he assumes to be Taeyong’s back against the door, sliding down it. Johnny carefully lets the doorknob go and sits against the door as well. 

After a few moments of silence, Johnny notices Taeyong’s phone slide under the door with the translation app open. 

_I need you._

Johnny’s heart jumps to his throat. 

He doesn’t mean that, Johnny convinces himself. He just wants an alpha.

Letting his reasoning skill win over his alpha side, and wanting to put Taeyong first, Johnny asks in a voice that he hopes doesn’t sound as strangled as it feels, “Do you want me to call someone else? Yuta? Jaehyun?” he asks as he passes the phone back under the door. Taeyong seems to like them, maybe he’ll trust them to get him through this. “Or we can call someone else—“

A soft _thump_ against the door was what Johnny heard in response, along with muttering in Korean. 

_No, I need you,_ is what Johnny reads when the phone is slid back to him. 

Johnny contemplates calling his mom and confessing the situation and to ask her what he should do, but remembers they’re probably on the plane right now. Also, how embarrassing… 

_“Hyung…”_ Taeyong is frustrated, Johnny can tell.

Okay. Need to focus. He can’t have sex with Taeyong in this condition, not when he’s out of his mind like this. They can talk when Taeyong can think clearly. Speaking of talking...

“Hey, Taeyong? What happened to your English? You’ve been learning so much…” 

There’s a groan and some tapping by the bottom of the door. Oh, he needs the phone back. Johnny slides the phone under the door and it doesn’t take long for Taeyong to return it. 

_My head hurts, English so hard._

“Fair enough,” Johnny huffs out a laugh. 

Minutes pass and Johnny hears slight whimpering from the other side of the door. Fuck. Okay, Taeyong needs some relief… but again, he can’t do anything with Taeyong right now. 

Hm, maybe he can… assist? In some way?

“T-Taeyong?”

He hears a questioning grunt from the other side of the door.

Fuck, he can’t even say it out loud. He goes to the translate app on Taeyong’s phone and types on the English side and clicks translate. He hesitates and checks to make sure the phrase translates back to English correctly so nothing gets confused. Then he slides the phone back to Taeyong.

With his heart beating nervously, Johnny listens to Taeyong pick up the phone. 

_Touch yourself._

Taeyong whines loudly and Johnny hears what he thinks is his phone clatter to the floor. 

Listening to Taeyong has to be the worst torture. Taeyong stays put, behind the door Johnny’s back is pressed against. Doesn’t even go back to the bed where Johnny knows it’s got to be more comfortable. He imagines Taeyong with a hand down his shorts and his legs spread wide, right there on Johnny’s floor. 

Fuck.

Johnny tries to be encouraging, saying things like "you're doing so well," and "that's it, you got it." But even that's hard enough. Every sound that passes through Taeyong’s lips, Johnny can hear like it’s right in his ear. Johnny’s fingers dig into his thighs as he tries his best to not let the whispered _ah ah ah_ coming from the other side of the door affect him. He’s… hard, yeah of course he is, he’s a 19-year-old alpha one foot away from an omega in heat. But, no. He can’t...

If he was any other alpha and the boy on the other side of the door was any other omega, it would be so easy to, at the very least, jerk off right now. He might not even feel bad about it. But he’s Johnny and that’s _Taeyong_ and Johnny would rather throw himself out a window than hurt Taeyong or make him uncomfortable in any way. 

So, he just listens…

He listens to Taeyong occasionally hiss out some Korean words and he listens to the wet, squelching noises. Everything he hears travel through his ears, around his brain, and down his spine. He takes it all in, all the moans and huffs and, finally, a faint sigh. 

Then after about a minute of silence, he hears Taeyong move from the door to the bed, heavily dropping on the mattress. 

There’s sweat on the back of Johnny's neck. That was the hardest thing he’s had to do. He sits there for a few moments and wills his heartbeat to calm down as he tries to focus. 

Taeyong needs food. More water. Some towels, probably. But first, Johnny looks down at his lap. Those things can wait a tiny bit longer as Taeyong rested. The more pressing matter is in his pants, still rock hard.

It might be too early for it, but fuck it. Cold shower it is. 

  
  


Eggs are the fastest thing to make so he scrambles them up and adds fruit to the side, grabs an armful of water bottles, and then heads back to the door of his room. 

He taps lightly on the door. “Taeyong?”

No answer.

Managing to turn the knob, Johnny creaks open the door and peaks his head in.

The brightness from the window spreads over a sleeping Taeyong, lying mostly facedown, sprawled out over his bed. 

The pheromones haven’t dissipated _at all_ so after setting the plate of eggs on the end of the bed and the water on the floor, Johnny cracks open his window. The cold breeze makes him shiver. 

Either the noise from the window or the sudden coldness startles Taeyong and he starts to wake. 

Taeyong stretches and yawns and turns over to look at Johnny.

Johnny’s face immediately heats up, trying not to think about what happened earlier. 

“I, uh, I brought you some food…” 

When Taeyong leans up on an elbow, his shirt slips off his shoulder. Johnny clears his throat and quickly looks away. “There’s also some water.” Then, he busies himself with grabbing a fresh pair of clothes (he still has on the pants that got ruined at the airport, he realized after the shower). 

“Thank you.” 

Johnny glances over at Taeyong, now eating the eggs, and wonders if his English is back. They definitely need to talk and he doesn’t know if he should trust the translate app for serious discussions. 

But that’s for later. Right now, he goes to the bathroom to change into his clean clothes and then grabs some towels and washcloths from the linen closet. 

Johnny sets everything near the end of his bed when he returns and then sits at the edge. It’s getting cold in the room with the window open but he can’t get his cheeks to stop warming. Without looking fully at Taeyong, he asks, “How are you feeling?” 

“You left me,” he says simply, putting the now empty plate to the side.

Johnny looks at Taeyong now. At least his English is back. 

“...but you’re here. Feeding me. Giving things. To me.” He says this a little suspiciously and Johnny’s confused. 

“I want to help.”

“But you left me. Don’t you want me?” 

Johnny’s chest tightens. “Jesus, Taeyong.” His instinct is to get up and pace. Or shy away and leave. But he can’t. 

“I don’t want you to make a mistake.” 

Taeyong cocks his head. “‘Make a mistake’?” 

“Yeah, like. You don’t have to allow me just because I’m here. We can call someone, or get you the—” how can he talk without his face being on fire, “—the toys you need. Ahem. It doesn’t have to be me.” 

Surprisingly, Taeyong just rolls his eyes. “I know that.”

“Oh.”

“I’m not a child, _hyung,_ I’ve had heat before.”

“Oh.” Well, sure Johnny knows that logically. He just sees Taeyong and how pretty and perfect he is and he doesn’t want to mess that up. _Of course,_ he’s been through this before, Johnny berates himself.

“Have you… shared your heat with anyone before?” 

Taeyong looks away from Johnny and he’s not sure if it’s out of embarrassment. “No.” 

Then he looks back at Johnny, challengingly. Like Johnny would tease him or make fun. 

Not in a million years.

“So, why me?” 

Taeyong shrugs and yawns. “Because you are you.” 

Johnny doesn’t know what to make of that and maybe that shows on his face because Taeyong continues.

“You take care of Mark good. You are a good alpha, a good person. I don’t want another person.”

Johnny couldn’t stop his chest from puffing up or the huge, shit-eating grin if he tried. Taeyong playfully kicks at Johnny’s knee. “Shut up.” 

Johnny raises his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say anything,” he laughs. 

He feels relief. And proud. Taeyong wants him. He knows it’s just for his heat. But maybe not. 

"I've never done anything like this before," Johnny confesses. "I don't know what to do."

Taeyong looks around the room, at the plate and the water, at the towels, at Johnny. "You're doing it already. It's..." Taeyong frowns and then grabs his phone. He types and then hands it over to Johnny.

_Instinct._

And Johnny understands.

After asking Taeyong what he wants to do now, he answers that he wants to get cleaned up from earlier. And then he wants to nap. 

While Taeyong’s in the bathroom, Johnny gathers some blankets from around the house for nesting, some snacks, and anything else he can think of that they’ll need, letting his instincts lead the way. They’re going to be cooped up in this room for a while and he wants it to go smoothly. He wants to show Taeyong that he can take care of him. 

He still doesn’t know what it is about Taeyong but he knows he’s far too gone for him. 

  
  


Johnny’s mom calls when Taeyong is curled up and pressed tight right next to him in their nest of blankets, rosy cheeked and fast asleep. He had been switching in between playing games and scrolling through Instagram, trying not to stare at Taeyong’s soft face too much.

His family landed and checked into their hotel, his mom tells him. Then she, of course because she’s still worried, asks how Taeyong is doing. Johnny decides on the truth. Speaking quietly, he let her know that Taeyong is in heat.

“Impossible,” she replies immediately. 

Johnny’s confused. “I mean, he is, mom. Why is it impossible?”

“Because he’s on a suppressant.”

Rolling his eyes, Johnny says, “Then, he must have forgot to take them.”

“No, no, no, John-ah you don’t understand. It’s a shot. Once every few months, I took him myself like two weeks ago to get it. He was adamant about wanting a suppressant while here.” 

Johnny’s mind whirls. “But. But he’s definitely in heat, Mom.” He props himself up on his elbow and looks down at Taeyong tucked next to him. There’s a pinch in between Taeyong’s eyebrows and he’s now frowning but still asleep. How could he have a shot that’s like a million percent effective but still go into heat?

“Hmm,” his mom wonders out loud, “there is one way a suppressant might stop working. He must have found a soulmate...”

Johnny sits up. “A what??”

His mom clicks her tongue. “Oh calm down, it’s not like in a fairytale or something. But it is an instant connection, someone who he has great feelings for, and they for him, so much that it’s hyped up his body chemistry and made the suppressant ineffective. It’s rare but it happens.” 

“What??” he repeats.

She hums again. "Maybe that's why he had such a terrible fever beforehand..."

Taeyong is stirring beside him but hasn’t opened his eyes yet.

“I’ll call his doctor to be sure, but,” and she _giggles_ like it’s the most exciting news she’s heard all year, “it’s like straight out of a movie. I wonder who it is. Has he asked for anyone?” 

Johnny’s heart skips a beat.

 _I need you,_ Taeyong had written. 

_I don’t want another person._

Johnny’s still staring at Taeyong, shocked. He watches his eyelashes flutter open and him blinking a few times.

“... Well, I gotta go. I’m sure he’ll be fine with you there. Take care of him, John-ah.”

“K, Mom,” Johnny finally says, tightly, and hangs up.

Taeyong stretches in the most ridiculously feline way, unaware of the jumbled mess in Johnny’s mind. 

They are soulmates. 

He sees it now. It wasn’t like lightning struck or something predestinated. But like, in the loose sense of the word. They fit each other so well. And Taeyong _has feelings for him back?_ He does remember the way Taeyong looked at him when he was trying to ignore his own feelings. Like he was important. And he trusts him to care for him. 

_“Johnny-hyung.”_

Johnny leans back over on his elbow over Taeyong. “What is it, baby?”

Taeyong groans pathetically. _“It hurts.”_ His hips are moving subtly and Johnny starts to catch the faint sweet smell of his pheromones again.

“I know,” Johnny says, brushing the bangs out of Taeyong’s eyes. 

_“Help me. Please.”_

Johnny looks at those extraordinarily large eyes full of unused tears and thinks he’s got to be the luckiest person alive.

“Of course,” he says, leaning over Taeyong a little more. “Can I kiss you?” 

Taeyong whimpers and nods rapidly, pulling Johnny by the neck to meet his mouth. There aren't sparks or anything like that. Just their lips slotting together in the simplest way. 

But it’s perfect.

Kissing Taeyong is everything that he’s craved since he first met him in the summer.

_Soulmates._

Johnny’s can hardly contain his elation so he pulls away. Taeyong tries to chase his lips, but Johnny pulls back just enough.

“This might not be the right time, and definitely not the right place. But I have to tell you.” He pauses, making sure he has Taeyong’s attention. 

_“Saranghae.”_

Taeyong lights up. He bites his lip, grinning. Then he reaches up to hold Johnny’s face. 

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is so cheesy I’m sorry. it was supposed to be way more porny than *waves hands* what ever this was, but it clearly didn’t go that way, so yeah :/


End file.
